Rig Rundown: Ben Harper and Jason Mozersky

Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger hung out with Ben Harper and his long-time guitarist Jason Mozersky before a gig at Nashville’s revered Ryman Auditorium. Harper and Mozersky took PG through a slew of truly one-of-a-kind axes and amps going well over an hour.

Ben Harper tours with this Asher Mozo Custom (which is co-guitarist Jason Mozersky’s signature model) that’s loaded with a ’53 Tele pickup in the bridge and a Charlie Christian pickup in the neck, both made by Seymour Duncan. All of Harper’s electric guitars are strung up with D’Addario EXL115w (.011–.049) strings.

For some P-90 warmth, Ben Harper tours with this 1957 Gibson Les Paul Special model.

This early 2000s Fender Custom Shop Telecaster is in the boat for when Ben Harper needs some old-school twang. He obtained this from Magpie Salute guitarist Marc Ford in a straight-up swap. Ford really liked one of Harper’s single-pickup Teles, so the two made a deal on the spot.

Gibson made this custom Les Paul Jr. for Ben Harper. It sports a pair of Seymour Duncan humbuckers.

Ben Harper’s relationship with luthier Bill Asher is deep. This custom Asher Lap Steel has two Seymour Duncan Charlie Christian pickups that date back to the early 2000s. All of Ben’s lap steels use D’Addario EHR (.012–.052) strings.

Here’s another of Ben Harper’s signature model Asher Lap Steels that features an original set of ’50s Gibson PAF pickups, Dumble-style knobs, and is finished in piano black.

Here’s Ben Harper’s signature model lap steel that he designed along with Bill Asher. Harper describes it as “If a Les Paul and a Weissenborn had a baby and it morphed into a lap steel.” He uses a pair of Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups to give a nod to the classic Les Paul tones that filled his childhood.

Here’s one of Ben Harper’s more sci-fi lap steels that was made by Noah Guitars out of Italy.

You’ll have to watch the video to see Ben open up the back to show off the intricate work on the inside of the guitar. (Ben also had a Noah T-style guitar, but he gifted that to The Edge.)

Ben Harper pulls no punches when it comes to his amps. For this run, he used a pair of Dumble creations. This one was the eighth Dumble ever made! He got it from one of his early mentors, David Lindley. The head runs into two 12² Celestion speakers, one housed in a tweed Glasswerks cab and the other is in the green Dumble combo.

The other Dumble in Ben Harper’s arsenal was made specifically for him. Ben went to Dumble’s shop and played through an oscilloscope in order for Dumble to scientifically design the perfect amp.

Ben Harper is not a huge pedal guy. Most of his tone is the instrument and the amp. He plugs his guitars into a Hilton volume pedal that sends the signal to his Boss TU-3 tuner and out to a Hermida Audio Zendrive which sends the signal to the Dumbles.

Jason Mozersky’s 1953 Les Paul goldtop has had a fair amount of work done to it. There’s been a neck repair, Grover tuners added, upgraded to a Tune-o-Matic bridge, and routed for 1959 P.A.F. pickups. It also has the “Peter Green” mod where the pickup magnets are flipped for an out-of-phase sound.

Another vintage treasure on tour is Jason Mozersky’s 1964 Gibson SG. The SG is all original with a small binding repair on the neck.

For some quack, Jason Mozersky goes with this 2017 Masterbuilt Fender Strat, built by Dale Wilson, in faded Lake Placid blue.

Here’s another of Jason Mozersky’s Fender Custom-Shop creations, this time built by Greg Feasler. The Strat houses lipstick pickups and a matching headstock.

This beat-up Fender Strat is actually the guitar that Jason Mozersky learned how to play on. It dates back to 1988 and is kept in C# standard tuning and strung with flatwound strings.

Jason Mozersky’s other Les Paul is a 2015 Collector’s Choice #33 Jeff Hanna 1960 Les Paul Standard. The LP has been upgraded with a real P.A.F. in the bridge and a T-Top in the neck.

To get his Stairway on, Jason Mozersky plays his stock 2004 Gibson EDS‑1275.

Jason Mozersky’s signature 2012 Asher Mozo has a Cooder-caster vibe featuring a vintage Supro lap-steel pickup in the bridge and a vintage Guyatone pickup in the neck.

Finally, we have Jason Mozersky’s 2014 Fender Masterbuilt ’56 Reissue Strat that was built by Todd Krause.

Jason Mozersky uses a pair of amps that are on all the time. Up first is a 1970 100-watt Marshall Super Lead that feeds a 1965 Vox cab.

Next up is Jason Mozersky’s 1965 Fender Princeton Reverb that still has the original speaker.

As a backup, Jason Maozersky carries a 1969 Park 75. The Marshall and Park amps were modified by Doug Anderson at Tone Zone.

John Bohlinger is a Nashville-based multi-instrumentalist best known for leading the band on NBC's Nashville Star, serving as music director for the CMT Awards and specials on PBS and GAC, and of course for his appearances in PG Rig Rundown, Review Demo, Axes & Artifacts, and What Bohlinger Plays videos.

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